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Clients with ultra-high net worth typically are young retirees who are loyal to one financial adviser, but 43% are untended by advisers, a survey of such clients by Spectrem Group found. The most important factor for winning and keeping such clients is providing trustworthy and honest advice, the poll found.

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"Financial therapy" is a growing practice that helps people understand and discuss underlying causes of their attitudes and actions when it comes to financial matters. "People aren't always rational when it comes to their financial decisions," says Sonya Britt, president of the Financial Therapy Association, a 300-member group that formed two years ago.

Even before new 401(k) fee-disclosure rules kick in, employers are streamlining their plans' mutual fund choices and reducing fees, experts say. In the past year, about 64% of plans changed their fund choices, compared with fewer than 20% in 2009, according to PSCA, a 401(k) advocacy group. Industry analysts say fees already are dropping as employers prepare for workers to see plain-English descriptions of fund costs next year.

Owners and partners in small firms are among those increasingly using cash-balance plans as a retirement-savings option, experts say. The plans require participants to contribute a set amount annually, and they promise a fixed growth rate that often is linked to a bond index. The plans are rich in tax-savings potential, but if the return is higher than expected, participants face a higher tax bill, and if it's lower, they owe the plan money.

Eight in 10 retirement plans offer target-date funds, an Aon Hewitt report says, and the average number of non-target funds offered by plans dropped to 13 last year from 14 a year earlier. Employees' desire for simpler-to-understand plans is behind the trend, the report said.

A Tennessee campaign to teach financial-literacy skills is paying off, officials say. Since the launch of the "Smart Tennessee" program six years ago, financial-literacy scores among elementary-school students have increased 45%, while those for middle-school students are up 40%.